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  <div class="section" id="python-c-api-reference-manual">
<span id="c-api-index"></span><h1>Python/C API Reference Manual<a class="headerlink" href="#python-c-api-reference-manual" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<table class="docutils field-list" frame="void" rules="none">
<col class="field-name" />
<col class="field-body" />
<tbody valign="top">
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Release:</th><td class="field-body">2.6</td>
</tr>
<tr class="field"><th class="field-name">Date:</th><td class="field-body">April 15, 2009</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>This manual documents the API used by C and C++ programmers who want to write
extension modules or embed Python.  It is a companion to <a class="reference external" href="../extending/index.html#extending-index"><em>Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter</em></a>,
which describes the general principles of extension writing but does not
document the API functions in detail.</p>
<ul>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html">Introduction</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html#include-files">Include Files</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html#objects-types-and-reference-counts">Objects, Types and Reference Counts</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html#exceptions">Exceptions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html#embedding-python">Embedding Python</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="intro.html#debugging-builds">Debugging Builds</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="veryhigh.html">The Very High Level Layer</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="refcounting.html">Reference Counting</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="exceptions.html">Exception Handling</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="exceptions.html#standard-exceptions">Standard Exceptions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="exceptions.html#deprecation-of-string-exceptions">Deprecation of String Exceptions</a></li>
</ul>
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<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="utilities.html">Utilities</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="sys.html">Operating System Utilities</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="sys.html#system-functions">System Functions</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="sys.html#process-control">Process Control</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="import.html">Importing Modules</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="marshal.html">Data marshalling support</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="arg.html">Parsing arguments and building values</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="conversion.html">String conversion and formatting</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="reflection.html">Reflection</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="abstract.html">Abstract Objects Layer</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="object.html">Object Protocol</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="number.html">Number Protocol</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="sequence.html">Sequence Protocol</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="mapping.html">Mapping Protocol</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="iter.html">Iterator Protocol</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="objbuffer.html">Buffer Protocol</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html">Concrete Objects Layer</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html#fundamental-objects">Fundamental Objects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html#numeric-objects">Numeric Objects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html#sequence-objects">Sequence Objects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html#mapping-objects">Mapping Objects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="concrete.html#other-objects">Other Objects</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="init.html">Initialization, Finalization, and Threads</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="init.html#thread-state-and-the-global-interpreter-lock">Thread State and the Global Interpreter Lock</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="init.html#profiling-and-tracing">Profiling and Tracing</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="init.html#advanced-debugger-support">Advanced Debugger Support</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="memory.html">Memory Management</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="memory.html#overview">Overview</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="memory.html#memory-interface">Memory Interface</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="memory.html#examples">Examples</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="toctree-l1"><a class="reference external" href="objimpl.html">Object Implementation Support</a><ul>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="allocation.html">Allocating Objects on the Heap</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="structures.html">Common Object Structures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="typeobj.html">Type Objects</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="typeobj.html#number-object-structures">Number Object Structures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="typeobj.html#mapping-object-structures">Mapping Object Structures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="typeobj.html#sequence-object-structures">Sequence Object Structures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="typeobj.html#buffer-object-structures">Buffer Object Structures</a></li>
<li class="toctree-l2"><a class="reference external" href="gcsupport.html">Supporting Cyclic Garbage Collection</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>


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